History Lecture Series
Excavating Seattle’s histories: Peoples, politics, and place
The 2016 History Lecture Series
Online video now available! See individual lectures for links to the videos.
Seattle’s remarkable past encompasses the stories of Native Americans and pioneers, labor agitators and civil rights activists, loggers and environmentalists, aircraft riveters and software moguls. In this signature series of lectures, four UW scholars chart the social worlds, environments, and political conflicts that shaped the city’s past and its present. Presented by the University of Washington Department of History and the UW Alumni Association, with introductory remarks by four former Seattle mayors.
Excavating Seattle’s histories: Peoples, politics, and place is a series of four lectures that examines the history of Seattle from a variety of perspectives. The series begins on January 13 and continues on Wednesday evenings through February 3.
All lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in Kane Hall, room 130 (directions and parking information).
Jan. 13
Pioneers and Pandemonium: Stability and change in Seattle history
John M. Findlay
Professor, University of Washington
Introduction by Greg Nickels
Watch online
Like the city itself, histories of Seattle have oscillated between the cosmopolitan and the provincial. At different times they have described Seattle as a pioneer city, an aerospace city, a green city, and a wired city. John Findlay takes us on a closer look at the stories Seattle has told about itself, asking why certain stories were retold, while others were all but ignored.
About John M. Findlay
John Findlay joined the UW Department of History in 1987. He teaches and researches about the Pacific Northwest and the North American West. His publications include a book called Magic Lands: Western Cityscapes and American Culture after 1940; a book called Atomic Frontier Days: Hanford and the American West (with co-author Bruce Hevly); and articles and chapters on the history of California Indian reservations, Nevada gambling, the University of Washington, Pacific Northwest regional identity, western American utopianism, western urban development, and Seattle’s world’s fairs. He is currently working on an overview of the American West between 1941 and 2001. He served as managing editor of Pacific Northwest Quarterly for eighteen years, as director of the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest for eight years, and as chair of the Department of History for six years.Jan. 20
The Peopling of Seattle: Race, migration, and immigration
Quintard Taylor
Professor Emeritus, Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Chair of American History, University of Washington
Introduction by Norm Rice
Watch online
Since the pioneer days, Seattle has been defined by the arrival of successive waves of newcomers and by the challenges they have posed to the existing order. Quintard Taylor will examine how the city’s vibrant and sometimes contentious population was built up, one person at a time, from the first Native American inhabitants to the frenetic growth of the 21st century.
About Quintard Taylor
Quintard Taylor is the Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History at the University of Washington and as such he holds the oldest endowed chair at the University. He is the author of The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era, and In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West, 1528-1990. His Dr. Sam: Soldier, Educator, Advocate, Friend, An Autobiography, which Taylor co-authored with the late university administrator and career army officer, was released in the summer of 2010. Taylor is the author of more than fifty articles and the editor of the Race and Culture in the West series for the University of Oklahoma Press. He is a co-founder of Jan. 27
Putting People in Their Place: Seattle’s environmental history
Linda Nash
Associate Professor, Director, Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington
Introduction by Mike McGinn
Watch online
Linda Nash examines how the history of Seattle has been tied to the natural materials people found here, and the things they brought from other places. Nash will emphasize how the city’s social and economic life, culture and politics, have been shaped by the movement of resources, as they were consumed and transformed, imported and exported, allocated and exhausted.
About Linda Nash
Linda Nash is an associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Washington where she also serves as director of the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest. In addition to a Ph.D. in History from the UW, she holds degrees in Civil Engineering (B.S.) and Energy and Resources (M.S.). Her research focuses on the environmental and cultural history of the 20th-century U.S. She is the author of numerous articles on American cultural, environmental, and public health history. Her award-winning book, Inescapable Ecologies: A history of environment, disease, and knowledge, was published by the University of California Press in 2006. She is currently completing a manuscript on American responses to dry landscapes both within the US and beyond. Although born in California, she has lived and worked in Seattle for the last two decades.Feb. 3
Left Coast City: The history of a political reputation
James N. Gregory
Professor, University of Washington
Introduction by Charley Royer
Watch online
James Gregory concludes the series with a look at Seattle’s left-leaning reputation. Based on events ranging from the 1919 IWW strike to the $15 minimum wage campaign, Seattle is often seen as exemplifying America’s “left coast.” Gregory will examine the reality behind this image, looking at the city’s long history of labor action and progressive activism, as well as the conservative responses and political conflicts they prompted.
About James N. Gregory
James N. Gregory is a professor of history and former Harry Bridges Endowed Chair of Labor Studies. He is the prize-winning author of several books and many articles on issues of labor, migration, and civil rights. His books include The Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America and American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California. In 2005, Professor Gregory co-founded the Feb. 10
Panel discussion: The future of Seattle
As a complement to the 2016 History Lecture Series, the UW Office of External Affairs and the Alumni Association present the future of Seattle. Please note that you need to register separately for this event. Admission is free.
Enrique Cerna, moderator
David Rolf, Trish Millines Dziko, Ruby Love and Eric Carlson, panelists
The 2016 History Lecture Series focuses on Seattle’s fascinating history; complete the experience with a lively discussion of Seattle’s future. KCTS9’s Enrique Cerna leads a panel featuring nationally-recognized labor leader David Rolf, Technology Access Foundation founder and education advocate Trish Millines Dziko, social benefit entrepreneur Ruby Love and sustainable development innovator Eric Carlson, ’70, ’76, to discuss the big questions: What will Seattle look like in 20 years? Can we keep this city vibrant and livable? Will the things that people love about Seattle today still be here? What does the future have in store for the Emerald City?
